O2 drops mobile data tethering fees

British mobile carrier O2 has unveiled a new structure of tariffs which drop the firm's previous insistance on a charge to enable tethering of computers to 3G data plans.

"For the first time, Internet Tethering (using your phone as a modem to connect your laptop to the Internet) is completely included in our data allowances, so you don’t have to pay a penny extra for it," the firm wrote on the O2 blog.

The firm portrayed the removal of the tethering fee as a "£7.65 additional value," but existing customers will not see charges removed, instead the new deals apply only to new contracts.